


take my breath

by stilinscry



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Lowercase, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-15 08:14:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11802045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stilinscry/pseuds/stilinscry
Summary: sicheng likes volunteering at the local animal shelter because it's fun and fulfilling and then donghyuck start's volunteering too and everything kind of flips upside down





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i dont really know what this is ?? idk i havent slept properly in a couple days so read into that what u will
> 
> this isnt beta'd btw but none of my fics are tbh

“morning taeyong,” sicheng calls as he walks into reception. the seat behind the desk is empty, but sicheng can hear the tell-tale sound of cages closing in the back room and it’s not even two minutes before taeyong is stumbling in, hair a little more ruffled than usual.

“hey sicheng. you’re here a little early,” he pants as he walks behind the desk, ducking down to pull out the volunteer sign-in sheet.

“yeah, renjun had some of his friends over last night and for some reason they all woke up at seven this morning to bake a cake of all things so, here i am.” he gives taeyong the best jazz hands he can muster this early in the morning and taeyong chuckles. “anyways, it looks like you could use the help.”

taeyong nods vehemently. “we got a new cat the other day and she is wild to say the least. trying to feed her was not fun,” he says and then he’s pulling up his sleeve, revealing a set of nasty look scratch marks. “she gave me these last night when i had to cut some matts out of her fur. never again.” he shivers a little as he pulls his sleeve back down and sicheng really does feel bad but that doesn’t stop himself from laughing a little.

taeyong pouts at him, brow furrowing a little and sicheng can’t help but think how cute he is as he signs himself in on the sheet. he hands it back to taeyong when he’s done and he puts it back into the cupboard under the desk before walking back into the back of the centre and sicheng follows.

the dogs start barking as soon as they approach and sicheng likes to think that it’s because they love him a lot and not just because he’s a human willing to give them love and attention. his particular favourite, a small three legged corgi with the cutest bark ever, is pushed right up against the front of his cubicle, pushing his nose through the bars and sicheng coos at him as he kneels down to pet him.

“hello my precious little mandu,” he greets, ruffling the fur on his head and he smiles when mandu leans up into his hand. “how are you on this fine day, my sweet little baby.”

mandu whines a little, but it’s not a bad noise and sicheng pats him on the butt a little before stroking his side. “that’s good then isn’t it. are you ready for some breakfast?” this time mandu barks and sicheng takes that as a resounding yes.

he pets mandu on the head two more times, just for luck, before standing up and walking along to the back of the room where taeyong is already preparing the food.

“i’ve already fed most of the cats, it’s just the ones that taeil keeps separately in the surgery room that are left so if you could do that for me it’d be really helpful,” taeyong says, not bothering to turn round as he lines up all the bowls, ready to be filled. “and then when you come back you can help me with cleaning out the rabbit cages.”

sicheng nods, before realising that taeyong can’t actually see and he blushes a little before speaking. “yeah that’s all good. is the cat food where it usually is?”

“yeah, and don’t forget to take the dry stuff for mochi.”

“oh, is she still ill?”

“yeah but taeil said she’s finally getting better so i wouldn’t worry too much.”

“that’s good then. okay hyung, i won’t take too long,” sicheng says as he moves out of the back room and back into the reception. it’s still early, not even eight am yet, so sicheng really isn’t expecting anyone else to be there and therefore it’s completely not his fault when he looks up to see a boy stood near the front desk and jumps out of his skin.

he’s got soft red hair and a nervous smile and the cutest sweater paws that sicheng has ever seen in his life and he drops all the cat food that he’s holding when he and the boy make eye contact. it takes him a second to realise what’s happening, but by the time he’s come to his senses the boy is already knelt in front of him, gathering the food pouches and bag of biscuits into his arms.

when he stands up, he’s ridiculously close and sicheng eyes flit all over his face, moving from the small mole on his neck to the little scar next to his eye and then down to the cute bow of his lips. the boy clearly realises where sicheng is looking because suddenly he’s flushing bright red, almost the same colour as his hair and taking a few steps back to put some space between them. he stutters a little, clearly unsure of what to do next and sicheng knows that he should probably introduce himself but he’s kind of preoccupied with trying to keep his heart from beating out of his chest.

eventually, cute boy breaks the silence and sicheng internally groans at how sweet his voice sounds. “hey um- are you taeyong? because dongyoung told me that taeyong would be here to meet me and that his frowny face would be very recognisable but you don’t look very frowny.”

“umm,” sicheng replies, ever so eloquently and cute boy tilts his head and god, this is the end for sicheng. he rubs a hand over his face, trying to pull himself together and when he looks back, cute boy just looks even more confused.

fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, sicheng is saved from having answer when taeyong practically falls through the swinging doors, chasing after a rogue dog. “lettuce get back here or so help me, you will face my wrath,” he shouts, jogging after the little pomsky as she runs free, only stopping when she reaches sicheng’s feet.

that’s when taeyong notices the two of them, just stood there in the middle of the reception and his eyes dart between cute boy’s and sicheng a couple times before finally stopping on sicheng and he smirks a little as he steps closer. “sichengie, are you okay? you look a little red?” he asks, like the fucking traitor he is and he stutters as cute boy’s scrutinizing gaze falls on him once again.

“um yep, i’m fine, i’m good, no great actually. yep, that’s me. feeling good,” he says, voice verging on frantic and taeyong is doing a real bad job at containing his laughter. “and i am supposed to be feeding the cats. they need their breakfast. nutrition is important. yes. um, okay, i’m going to be going now.” and with that he runs like the big wimp he is.

he doesn’t stop until he’s safely in the surgery room and he leans back against the closed door, panting lightly and silently cursing himself for getting so flustered. it takes him a minute or so to properly calm down and by then the cats have noticed his presence and are meowing insistently from their little enclosure in the corner of the room.

“i know, i know, you’re hungry. i get it, children but i’m kind of having a crisis here.” the cats continue to meow, binnie peeking his little head over the edge of the enclosure and sicheng immediately feels bad for snapping, even if it was only at the cats. “sorry babies, i didn’t mean that.”

he steps further into the room, grabbing their bowls from the cupboard before laying them out on the counter to fill with food. except… he doesn’t have the food. he spins around, checking to see whether he left it by the door and then the mental image of donghyuck clutching all the food in his arms slaps him in the face and sicheng groans as he slumps down against the counter.

he stays there for a minute or so, weighing up the pros and cons of going back out into the reception and it’s a tough decision.

the pros are:

   - the cats will get fed and taeyong won’t fire him (if you can even be fired from a volunteering position)

   - sicheng will get to see cute boy again

   - he might get the opportunity to give cute boy a better first (second) impression of himself

and they’re all pretty good but then sicheng thinks of all the cons and well:

   - taeyong will undoubtedly laugh at him

   - cute boy might join in

   - sicheng will actually have to physically interact with cute boy and that might cause him another minor meltdown

   - cute boy might think he’s weird and sicheng will have to change his name and leave the country to avoid ever having to interact with him again, he’ll miss his mum but the promise of no more awkward interactions would be worth the homesickness

   - they might _laugh_ at him (that one’s repeated because it’s Important with a capital I)

it’s very clear to sicheng that the cons heavily outweigh the pros and he desperately wants to stay in his new safe haven but twinkle’s mews are getting steadily more insistent and if sicheng doesn’t feed them soon he’s scared that binnie will finally figure out how to get free from their enclosure and maul him to death. actually, would that be such a bad death?

sicheng shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. death by cat is definitely not more favourable than interacting with a cute boy, despite how awkward it may be, sicheng says to himself as he slowly makes his way out of the room and back towards the reception. he must have been gone for at least ten minutes but taeyong and cute boy are still stood near the front desk, cute boy’s arms still full with the cat food sicheng so desperately needs.

taeyong notices him first and a knowing smile spreads across his face, which very quickly alerts cute boy to his presence. when he turns around, he smiles at sicheng and god, he’s like the fucking sun. sicheng’s breath hitches a little but he still steps closer, trying to muster the least stilted smile he can but given the way taeyong is nearly in tears, he probably isn’t doing that well.

cute boy, however, doesn’t seem to notice sicheng’s internal struggle and he steps forwards to close the space inbetween them, arms stretching out to hand the food over to him. “you forgot this,” he says, voice as sweet as cotton candy and all sicheng can do is nod as he takes the food from him. “my name’s donghyuck by the way, i’m a new volunteer here.”

“donghyuck,” sicheng says, liking the way it sounds coming from his own mouth. “i am, um i’m sicheng. i also volunteer here.”

“oh cool, guess we’re gonna be seeing a lot of each other over the next few weeks then,” he replies, sounding way too cheery about that and sicheng just nods again. he catches taeyong’s eye over donghyuck’s shoulder and the elder just shrugs his shoulders at him, smiling knowingly and sicheng is unfriending him.

“c’mon then donghyuck, you can help me with the rabbits whilst sicheng does his stuff,” he says, one of his hands landing on donghyuck’s shoulder and the younger boy shoots sicheng one last smile before following taeyong into the back room and it takes all of sicheng’s will for him to not fall the ground there and then. god, he’s so fucked.


	2. pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wont lie, i completely forgot that i had to update this and that's why it's been so long - sorry

the next time sicheng meets donghyuck is a few days later and it admittedly goes better than their first encounter. only slightly though.

he's in starbucks, alongside a very chagrined renjun ("why are we funding these capitalists monsters when we could be at the nice independent place down the road?") and all he wants is a nice two shot macchiato to get him through the hell that is his three hour economics lecture. their wait in the queue is long enough that sicheng's attention starts to wander from his conversation with renjun and he startles when his eyes fall upon a familiar red haired boy. his hand comes up to grip renjun's bicep, and the younger boys whines though it fades away when he sees the panicked look on sicheng's face.

"i know that boy," he whispers, eyes flitting over to donghyuck to see if he's been noticed or not. renjun does the same, though he's way less subtle about it and sicheng doesn't hesitate to pinch his arm when renjun stands up on his tiptoes to get a proper look at the barista.

"he's cute," he responds, like sicheng somehow hasn't noticed this fact about the boy. "what did you do though. why are you so scared to see him again?"

sicheng whines. "i forgot how to speak junnie. his beauty literally rendered me speechless. it was like, the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me."

"even more embarrassing than that one time in year eleven whe-"

sicheng pinches his arm again, harder than before and he smiles smugly when renjun hisses. "shut up. we don't speak about that incident." renjun holds his hands up in fake surrender, but he doesn't actually look that sorry. in fact, he looks almost gleeful as he looks over sicheng's shoulder and when sicheng follows his gaze he almost fucking screams because donghyuck is looking right at the pair of them, head tilted in confusion. sicheng does the only thing he can think to do, which is duck down a little so that he's hidden behind the customer in front of them and he shoots renjun the most desperate look he can muster. "help me," he hisses, hand now holding his forearm in a vice-like grip and renjun shakes his head.

"nope, you're on your own buddy," he responds, like a fucking traitor and then he's pulling his arm free from sicheng's grip and pulling his phone from his pocket. "hey, would you look at that. yiyang needs to meet up before our practical this afternoon. see you later sichengie." and then he's gone.

he's stands there for a second, just staring at the space where renjun had been and he's just to say fuck his macchiato and chase after his 'friend' but someone starts speaking to him and sicheng would recognise that voice anywhere.

"uh, sicheng? are you okay?" donghyuck asks, voice just as silky sweet as sicheng remembers it being. he looks genuinely worried, brow furrowed slightly and it's so so cute. he must zone out because donghyuck waves a hand in front of his face, body leant over the counter and sicheng jumps before stuttering out "yeah i'm great."

it's obvious that donghyuck is still a little wary but he smiles anyway, accepting sicheng's answer. "oh cool, that's good. so, what did you want to order today? our autumn specials have just come in if that interests you."

"oh i wanted a - i wanted...." he pauses, squints up at the board and then back down to donghyuck and then he sighs, "i forgot what i wanted."

donghyuck laughs at that, eyes crinkling shut for just a second and sicheng's heart skips a beat. "well then, are you open to suggestions?" he asks and sicheng nods.

"yes, very open. that's me, an open person." he trails off with an awkward laugh and sicheng swears that he hears the person behind him mutter 'oh dude' under their breath. good to know that everyone else can feel his pain too.

donghyuck seems oblivious to it though and he just chuckles again before pointing up at the board behind him. "my favourite at the minute is strawberry and cream frappuccino, do you wanna try one of those?"

"uh, yeah. okay. i trust in your taste."

"i'm honoured," donghyuck chuckles. "just a small one?" sicheng nods. "and your friend, the one that left. did he want anything?"

"no, traitors like him don't deserve nice sugary drinks," sicheng replies, voice deadly serious and donghyuck straight up snorts. his hand flies up to cover his mouth and he looks over at sicheng with wide eyes. cute.

a sharp flush then spreads across donghyuck's cheeks and sicheng realises that he must've said that outloud. stupid fucking brain to mouth filter. he's just about to backtrack, apology on the tip of his tongue, when they're interrupted by one of the other baristas.

"donghyuck, please stop flirting when there's a massive queue of customers," the guy says and sicheng watches with wide eyes as he walks over to ruffle donghyuck's hair. "serve who's left and then you can go on your break if you want." he says it with a wink in sicheng's direction and he chokes on his spit as donghyuck's whole face turns bright red. he looks to sicheng, eyes pleading for help and he stutters out the first thing that comes to mind.

"i can't stay! i mean, i have a lecture so it's okay, really. plus, we're gonna see each other tomorrow anyways so really, it's fine."

donghyuck visibly relaxes at his answer but his colleague, sicheng thinks his name badge says yuta, seems to find this information way more interesting than it actually is. he smirks knowingly, eyes flitting between them before he pats donghyuck on the shoulder and wanders back over to the other end of the counter. sicheng uses the opportunity to slide his money across the counter and he shakes his head when donghyuck tries to give him the change.

"if you wanna wait at that end of the counter it'll be ready in a minute. see you, sicheng," he says, waving his hand and sicheng swoons. "oh and thanks for the tip."

"yeah, anytime. uh, bye then."

it doesn't take long for his frapp to be pushed onto the counter and sicheng grins when he sees how sickly sweet it looks. he confirms this when he takes a sip and he hums appreciatively before taking another, bigger drink of it.

he's just getting ready to leave when he hears frantic mumbling in front of him and when sicheng looks up he manages to catch donghyuck whisper shouting "he's not my boyfriend, shut up, he's just cute boy that i happen to be acquaintances with," and those few words are a thousand times sweeter than the sugary drink in sicheng's hands. but then their eyes meet and donghyuck is flushing bright red all over again, arms flapping in front of him as he tried to figure out what to do next.

sicheng takes that as his cue to leave, and he ducks his head before briskly walking from the store. and if he smiles the whole walk to the lecture hall, well that's nobody elses business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i highkey dont know where rhis is going

**Author's Note:**

> as always, twt me @igbthyuck


End file.
